12 top tips when moving offices
First things first, congratulations on your new office. This is an exciting time and you’ve probably realised there’s a lot to do before you can sit back and enjoy your new business home. Maybe you’re moving across the city, maybe you are moving to a new city or even country but one thing is sure, this is a time that can easily turn into something stressful. We hope that our tips can help to make your move as seamless as possible.
Tip 1: Preparation
From changing your postal address to moving your phone lines and internet service there’s a long list of tasks to get through and that’s before you even think about packing files and moving furniture. It’s a good idea to give one person responsibility for collating the needs of each department into a master list and give them ownership over making sure that everyone’s needs are met.
Tip 2: Upgrade, remove, recycle
Take a look around your current office, are you happy to move everything or is this the perfect opportunity to upgrade some equipment, remove or recycle things you no longer need, or book a skip for all of the things you’ve managed to collect over your time in your old office. Are you eyeing up that shelf full of headed paper, business cards and marketing materials, the ones with contact details that are no longer valid? You’ll need to decide if those are worth moving and then think about ordering new materials with your updated details.
If you’ve decided that it’s time to replace or upgrade some furniture or furnishings double check any delivery times and dates to ensure that someone is on hand to greet delivery crews and liaise with any staff at the new office.
Tip 3: Company Branding
Do you have any outside signage that needs to be moved? Perhaps you haven’t needed it in the past but have the opportunity to avail of some outdoor space now so adding some signage to the list might be wise. When people are looking for your new office make it as easy as you can for them to find you and use the opportunity to get your company branding out there.
Tip 4: Stakeholder Communications
This may seem like an obvious task but remember to let your clients, suppliers and other stakeholders know about your upcoming move and do it in a timely fashion. Remember that your staff are stakeholders too and they should be updated as needed, it’s an upheaval for all involved so keep your staff on your side and make sure they feel involved.
Keep communication open with your new office premises, make sure you’ve all agreed on office layouts, IT requirements and move in dates. Nobody wants to arrive to a new office to find that there aren’t enough desks, power points or any issues with accessing the new office.
Tip 5: Moving utilities
When it’s time to think about how to leave your old office and move to your new one it’s useful to make a list of the contractors you work with, from energy providers to internet and phone services and set up a schedule for closing off old accounts and activating new ones. You’ll most likely need to have mail redirected and figure out moving routers and computers. With that come the inevitable back-up checks, the last thing you want is to get to your new premises only to find that when your computers are powered up you’ve lost vital information.
Tip 6: Changing your address – deciding who should be notified
Some key people who should be at the top of your list are the revenue commissioners, your insurance company, your accountants and solicitors, any cleaning company that you use, and your bank – particularly for business credit cards.
If you have a preferred courier company, print company or food delivery company they should all be updated, you definitely don’t want any of these services going to your old premises.
Tip 7: Travel Insurance
Something that you may not have considered is travel insurance while you physically move between your offices, check with your insurance provider to see if this is covered. You don’t want to unpack your boxes only to find that equipment has been damaged in transit and you’re now out of pocket.
Tip 8: Keep all staff updated on moving dates
Make sure that all staff know where the new premises is and when you are going to be working from the new office; that may seem obvious but if your business has employees who work part-time, job-share, or work from home a lot the last thing you want is for them to turn up at an office they no longer work at!
Tip 9: Labels and floorplans
As you pack each section of your office away take the time to label each box with an overview of the contents and where in your new office each box should be moved to. A detailed floorplan can be really useful in keeping track of what should go where in the new office. It’s a good idea to make sure that you’ve confirmed when you’ll have access to the new premises and that there will be adequate parking for any moving vans to load and unload on the day or days of the move.
Tip 10: Security Access
If there are new access codes make sure that all staff have been notified of them prior to moving day, if there are new systems with fobs or swipe cards make sure these have been distributed ahead of time and that staff know how and where to use them. It might be useful to have a run through where staff can familiarise themselves with the new building, new access points and security systems before the big move so that everyone can make a smooth transition on the first day in your new office.
Tip 11: Take your time
You will be faced with lots of boxes to unpack, cable to connect, furniture to assemble or re-assemble and service providers to liaise with in your first week; take your time getting set up, it’s better to get it right slowly than rush and end up redoing everything.
Tip 12: Use the power of social media
One final tip, use social media to tell people that you are moving. You can use Instagram stories to give people a sneak peek of the big moving day, of your new offices and to generate a buzz among staff. It can be a useful way to reach out to new neighbours too, there’s nobody better placed to tell you where the best coffee, lunch and after work drinks venues are. After a big move, you’ll be in need of some rejuvenation so make the most of those recommendations and enjoy your new office!